Numb hands and feet on waking: what your body may be signalling

Many people experience a strange sensation on waking up: the hand feels numb, the fingers tingle, the leg feels heavy, and even the first few steps are difficult to take. This is often caused by sleeping in the wrong position. Sometimes a person sleeps with their head resting on their hand, or lies on one side for too long. This puts pressure on the nerves and causes the hands and feet to go numb. Moving the hands and feet for a little while usually fixes it. But if this happens every day, it needs attention, because it may not just be a sleep problem but a symptom of another condition.

Nerves in the body work like electrical wires, carrying messages from the brain to the rest of the body. In deep sleep, when the arm stays pressed in one position for long, the ulnar nerve near the elbow or the radial nerve in the arm gets compressed, which blocks the message travelling to the brain. When the position changes on waking, the pressure eases and the nerves start working again, which is when tingling, pricking or a warm sensation is felt. A little movement and shaking of the hands and feet restores blood circulation and things return to normal.

If this trouble happens every morning, there can be different reasons behind it. In spinal problems, if a nerve is compressed in the neck bone, tingling is felt from the shoulder to the fingers, and if there is a problem in the lower spine, numbness is felt from the waist to the legs. Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the nerves in the wrist are compressed; this worsens when the wrist bends while sleeping at night, and it is more common among people who work on computers all day. Blood sugar and vitamin B12 deficiency are also causes: in people with diabetes, the nerves in the hands and feet gradually get damaged, a condition called neuropathy, and low vitamin B12 in the body also stops the nerves from working properly. People sometimes mistake numbness for stiffness, but sleeping in one position all night reduces lubrication in the joints and stiffens the muscles, causing pain with the first step in the morning. This can also be due to arthritis or heel pain.

Some simple steps can help at home: avoid sleeping with the head resting on the hand, use a proper pillow under the neck so the back stays straight, when numbness occurs do not jerk the hands and feet hard but move the fingers gently and stretch, drink plenty of water through the day and avoid sitting in one place for too long, take short walks instead. Cramps in the legs at night can also be caused by not drinking enough water.

In most cases this trouble goes away in a short while, but sometimes it can also be a sign of a stroke. If one side of the body suddenly goes numb, the face becomes lopsided, the tongue stumbles while speaking, vision suddenly fails, or dizziness occurs, one should go to a hospital immediately without a moment's delay, as this could be a stroke attack. Other warning signs include loss of control over urination, severe back pain with reduced strength in the legs, hands and feet turning cold and blue, and numbness that does not go away even after moving the limbs.

If the feet are stiff or painful every day, physiotherapy can help. Daily stretching exercises and muscle-strengthening exercises not only reduce pain but treat the problem at its root. So if numbness after waking up lasts too long, or there is difficulty gripping things or walking, one should not stay at home but see a good doctor. Timely treatment can prevent a bigger problem.